


the book of love

by NiciLupin



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Kind of songfic, Oneshot collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:48:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25497115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NiciLupin/pseuds/NiciLupin
Summary: Jane and Lisbon are in love and everyone can see it. - A collection of one shots from different POVs musing about Jane and Lisbon's relationship.
Relationships: Patrick Jane/Teresa Lisbon
Comments: 23
Kudos: 114





	1. mirrorball

**Author's Note:**

> I have this playlist of songs I associate with Lisbon and Jane and I've been wanting to turn them into fanfics for some time now, so let's see how this goes. Hence the title, which is a homage to Peter Gabriel's song.
> 
> This first one is from Abbott's POV and I've based it on this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaM1bCuG4xo
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

It was ridiculous, Abbott mused, almost a little sad.

The head of the narcotics division was fuming. “What did that clown think he was doing?” Joseph Carlson prompted, pacing in Abbott’s office like a tiger ready to attack.

‘ _That clown_ ’, of course, meant Jane and Abbott did have a pretty good idea about what he’d thought he’d been doing. But he couldn’t tell Carlson that.

“I apologize for Mr. Jane’s behavior. He is only a consultant and still adjusting to working for the Bureau”, he said calmly, his hands folded on his desk.

“Bullshit!”, Carlson spat and Bullshit it was, but Abbott wouldn’t admit that. Damage control was the key word. “I’ve heard of him. _Jane_. He’s never played by the rules and I knew that, but I’ve been told he’s efficient - I wasn’t told he’s wrecking havoc like that!” 

Carlson gestured wildly and ran a hand through his hair. 

Jane had gone overboard on this one and Abbott would really need to have a word with him over that. Right now, though, he needed Carlson to calm down and to save them all a lot of trouble and paperwork.

“Jane’s methods are unconventional, but you got your guy, didn’t you? And the whole organization, too, when he talks.”

“ _He almost burned the club down!_ ” Carlson hissed.

That was a good point. Jane had orchestrated the grandest scheme Abbott had yet seen him pull off. He’d told none of them what he was up to, naturally - he’d simply told them to cover the exits of the elite club their guy was running, while he had placed himself as the main act on stage (god knew how he’d managed that).

Jane had been marvelous, Abbott had to admit that. Had he not been so on the edge, the uncertainty about the motions of the plan tingling at his back and the amount of trouble Jane could put him in, he would actually have enjoyed the show. 

But Jane didn’t care about him or Carlson or the drug dealer they were trying to catch. He didn’t even care about the cheering crowd. Between his shining smiles and the masquerade that was hypnosis and the magic tricks, he was only ever glancing in one direction - making sure Lisbon was still looking at him, still smiling at his antics (despite herself and not as secretly as she’d like).

It was ridiculous how much he was in love with her and how little he could tell her.

Abbott, a romantic at heart, couldn’t help but find it endearing what a show Jane was ready to pull off just to keep her eyes on him, just to make her laugh at him, just to get her attention. He was ready to show her any version of himself (except for the one, that would just _talk to her_ about his feelings) and any version of herself, too.

He had dragged her on stage for one of his tricks, taking her by surprise while showering her with compliments and the affection of the crowd; and she had been reluctant at first, the professional and controlling side of her disliking this change of plans and her place in the spotlight, but she’d come to enjoy it. Soon she was spinning for Jane on stage, while the crowd grew silent in anticipation for the twist of the trick and Abbott grew restless, already fearing what was about to come: Jane was too caught up in his own con that he forgot the initial purpose of it.

“Yes, I’m sorry about that.”

Carlson’s anger slowly seemed to subside. “You should get a hold on your man.”

“That’s not how it works with Jane.” Abbott had come to the realization that Jane needed freedom to operate and - usually - he was most effective at it. Success exceeded damage. That was, apparently, if he wasn’t caught up in another emotional whim.

“Good luck with him, then. And with your career, Dennis. Please never try to help us ever again.”

Abbott smiled thinly. 

When he escorted Carlson to the elevator, he saw Jane and Lisbon sitting on the old couch Jane had demanded for the Bullpen. Lisbon was patching up Jane’s split lip and his bruised cheek. She was gently cleaning the blood from his face and pushed an ice pack into his hand. Jane must have been cracking a joke, because she grinned and rolled her eyes and Jane flinched when the smile that spread on his face became so wide it hurt.

Abbott almost rolled his eyes. There was little more absurd than a man - especially a man of Jane’s nature - trying to impress a woman. He’d probably get on a trapeze if he could incorporate that into a case, just to keep her eyes on him. And if he hurt himself in the process, at least she’d be there to take care of him afterwards. He wasn’t sure what it said about Lisbon that she _was_ always there to catch him - probably that she loved him just as much. She even seemed to love the fool he made of himself for her.

“Jane”, Abbott barked, walking over to his couch.

Jane tore his eyes away from Lisbon and glanced up at him. “Hi Abbott”, Jane said lightly.

“In my office.” Abbott jerked his head to the vague direction of the corridor.

Jane sighed dramatically and whispered something in Lisbon’s ear. She bit her lip to hide her grin and punched his arm but Jane seemed happy about it. 

Jane stood and followed him into his office. “I know, I know”, he said casually, his hands raised in an innocent gesture, before Abbott had even closed the door. “It got a little out of hand, but we caught a big fish, Carlson got his arrest and nobody was hurt - what else do you need?”

Abbott sat down behind his desk and leaned back in his chair.

“I could do with less paperwork”, he replied.

Jane waved his hand dismissively. 

“And Agent Carlson would be a lot happier with less property damage.”

Jane nodded. “Sorry about that. Seems I’m a little rusty with the fire.”

“It seems you’re a little rusty with women.”

“What?” He was satisfied to see that Jane looked perplex if only for a split second.

Abbott leaned forward and folded his hands on his desk again. “Listen, Jane, I tolerate the cons and the lies, because you are the best at what you do and I value your   
determination. But burning down a house is _not_ acceptable.”

“Technically I _didn’t_ burn it down.”

“It was a close call.”

“There’s always a small risk.”

“Jane, I need you to be focused on a case.”

“I was completely focused.”

“Not _on the case_.”

Jane stayed quiet for a moment. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Yes, you do.”

Jane stared at him and Abbott held his gaze.

“Can I go now?”, Jane asked finally.

Abbott nodded. “Yes, you can go.”

Jane clapped his hands and stood up, when he opened the door, Abbott spoke again: “You’re not too bad with words, you know, maybe you should just talk to her.”


	2. One and Only

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Teresa!” He cheered, when he picked up the phone.
> 
> “Hi Stan.” 
> 
> She sounded fifteen. She’d always sounded like this at fifteen. At that time their dad had hit another rock bottom by losing his job and – as a result - his temper, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am actually not a 100% happy with this one myself, but I had to get it out there. It's a little more of a Lisbon-character study.
> 
> I was inspired by this song by Adele: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJg4_rL9h7Q  
> Somehow I always see Teresa especially during the 2 years that Jane spent on the island.

It wasn’t even eight, yet. More like five-thirty.

T never called before eight PM. T rarely ever called, if not for a holiday (it was still a good two weeks until Thanksgiving) or a mild disaster and Jimmy and him had been pretty disaster-free lately, for all Stan knew. If she called on a weekday afternoon it had to be bad.

“Teresa!” He cheered, when he picked up the phone.

“Hi Stan.”

She sounded _fifteen_. She’d always sounded like this at fifteen. At that time their dad had hit another rock bottom by losing his job and – as a result - his temper, too. He’d been home all day, but it was Teresa, who cooked dinner, walked Jimmy to school and helped with their homework. She took a job at a diner even though she was babysitting on the weekends already. To this day, he had no idea how she’d done it. He didn’t even know when she’d slept, while she was working late hours and taking over the fights Tommy had started with their dad. He didn’t know how she managed to do her own homework or eat or speak to her first boyfriend, who then ditched her for some girl with more time and less burdens. It must’ve been the worst time for her – before she got used to the full weight of responsibility (hell, he didn’t know how she ever got used to it). But she’d smiled at them, nonetheless. She’d cracked jokes with them over dinner and taught them how to play poker on Fridays and she’d sounded like this, when she’d told him she was fine. She sounded strained and worn and sad and like she would never admit to any of that.

“What’s up, T? Everything okay?”

“Yeah, sure. Can’t I just call my brother to check in?”

“Sure, you can. Just, usually when you call, something’s the matter.”

“Everything’s fine. How are the kids?”

“They’re great. A lot of work, but – you know.”

“Yeah. And how’s Karen?”

“Uh, she’s great, too. She’s doing better since the baby sleeps through the night.”

“I can imagine.”

Silence was stretching out between them, as usual and he was tempted to ask her again what the matter was, but then she spoke again: “Is Jimmy going to visit for Thanksgiving?”

“Of course, where else would he scrounge a meal on Thanksgiving?”

Teresa laughed but it sounded hollow.

“You sure you don’t want to come over, too? Milton brought this 15-pound turkey, we need some more people or we’ll be eating turkey ‘til Christmas.” He’d asked her two times already and she’d always said she had a lot of work, _she’d try_. Which meant she didn’t want to come and he didn’t want to ask anymore. But now she’d brought it up and she sounded like something was wrong and she was his sister after all.

“Yeah, okay, I’ll come”, she said.

“Really?” Somehow, he hadn’t really expected her to say yes. Now he needed a bigger turkey.

“Sure.”

When he came home that day, he told Karen that Teresa was coming for Thanksgiving and that she had sounded weird on the phone. His wife shook her head and turned on the TV.

It was all over the news: **Organization of corrupt cops in California dismantled. California Bureau of Investigation shut down. Thomas McAllister - supposed Serial Killer “Red John” - dead. CBI Consultant Patrick Jane on the run for murder charges. Former Agent Teresa Lisbon under investigation.**

He watched for an hour Then he called Jimmy, asking if he knew anything, but of course, he didn’t. They argued whether or not to call her again and ask her about the whole thing. Jimmy said _no, if she wanted to talk to them about it, she’d do it_. Stan said _yes, she’d called at least, she was their sister and she was coming over for Thanksgiving_. In T-Language that meant disaster and from what he gathered that was pretty much what was going on in California.

They hung up, decided to give it another day, when Tommy called. Tommy never called. He was in the right mood not to pick up, but if Teresa was in trouble it could be important.

“Have you talked to Teresa?” Tommy asked without preamble.

“Yeah, she’s coming for Thanksgiving.”

“Wow, that bad, huh.”

“She told you anything?”

“I called her when I heard the news. I mean – you know her, she was all “I’m fine, don’t worry” but she sounded off.”

“Yeah, she did.” The silence between them was awkward. “Hey, what do you know about that Jane guy? I think she mentioned him a few times.”

“I don’t know. I met him once – long time ago, though. He seemed like a nice guy, taught Annie pickpocket tricks. I think Reese liked him – like they were best friends or something. Annie says he liked her too, but Annie also thinks Jimmy should’ve stayed with Stacey.”

“Hm.”

“I think she’s sad.”

“Yeah, me too.”

*

On Thanksgiving Teresa was quiet. She told them she needed to get a new job and that she had to testify in the Red John case and later, probably, in case of that corrupt-cop organization (The Blake Association, she’d called it). She told them her team was fine and she was fine and that was what mattered.

Karen asked her about that Jane guy and Teresa’s face seemed to freeze, but her breath hitched anyway.

“He can handle himself”, she said and waved her hand, but she sounded fifteen again.

“So, you don’t think he did it?”

T was quiet for a moment. “I don’t know.”

“I mean, the bastard killed his family. I would’ve killed him, too”, Jimmy said.

T didn’t reprimand him for that, which had to mean she agreed.

*

She came over for Christmas, too. She still seemed sad, but she did a better job at hiding it. She didn’t sound fifteen anymore, she was over that. Now, she was compensating by being uncharacteristically cheerful. She helped Karen with dinner and built a snowman with the kids and brought them big presents.

When they left church after Mass some guy stumbled into her. She looked angry but the guy was gone before either of them could say anything. When she reached into the pocket of her coat, though, she pulled out a letter and her eyes widened in surprise.

She stopped in her tracks to stare at the letter and when he peeked over her shoulder, there was only her name written on the envelope.

“What’s that?” Jimmy asked.

“A letter”, she said slowly.

“No shit, sherlock?”

“Usually letters are delivered by postmen”, Stan chimed in.

“Yeah.” She sounded perplexed, like she couldn’t believe the letter was real but a smile crept on her face.

“You don’t want to open it?”

“Later”, she said and there was a spring in her step, when she walked back to the car.

Jimmy raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

Later that night – everyone was asleep already – he went downstairs to get a glass of water and found her sitting on the couch. She had her legs pulled up to her chest and her eyes fixed on the letter in her hands.

She made a quiet sound – something between sobbing and laughing. He’d never heard that kind of sound from her. He didn’t think he’d ever seen so much emotion in her since their mom had died.

“T?” He went to the couch, sat down next to her and pulled her into a hug. She tensed for a second, then she leaned into him. He took the letter out of her hand:

_Dear Teresa,_

_it was one hell of a trip, I feel like I haven’t slept in weeks. It seems I’m a little rusty at the con game. That is your fault, I suppose, you were too good of an influence on me._

_I wish I could’ve said good-bye to you properly. It’s strange. When I wake up I still expect to see you every day. It seems I haven’t caught up with everything that happened yet._

_I hope you are okay. I hope you didn’t get in too much trouble with Abbott. I hope the others are okay, too._

_And I’m sorry, I’m sure you must have been worried. But I couldn’t contact you earlier._

_I will go to sleep now, it’s late but I had to get this out first. I’ll tell you more later._

_I miss you_

_U no hoo_

Stan wasn’t stupid, he didn’t have to ask who the letter was from. He wanted to ask if he had to track the guy down and break his nose for making her cry, though. He’d never seen her cry over a guy. She wasn’t that kind of girl. Usually she broke the men’s hearts, who couldn’t handle her.

This one had to be special and he wasn’t quite sure if that was a good thing.

*

She moved to Texas for that guy. And they weren’t even together. _Yet_ , Karen had said. He was back in the country, got her a job at the FBI and had her move to Texas to work with him again. Simple as that. She complained about it a lot. What a hassle it was to move again, how she didn’t have FBI training and how it was _Texas._

She sounded happier than she ever had in the past two years.

*

He’d only just heard of DC and Marcus Pike, when it had already been over. He had to say, he was a little confused at that but apparently T didn’t want to talk about it much. She’d only said she had a new boyfriend and she was taking a few weeks off work to sort her things in Austin.

He’d been skeptical at first. That guy didn’t seem to be easy and she wasn’t the kind of girl, who let her life be dictated by men. But that went for her brothers, too, so he didn’t say anything. If she decided to give him a shot after all that time and everything that happened, she really had to like him a lot. He just hoped the guy was worth it.

When he saw them together, though, he knew it.

Patrick was a family man – he’d proven that by helping him and Jimmy even during their first encounter. And he was obviously deeply in love with Teresa.

It was a lot more stunning to see _her_ around him. He’d never seen T look at anyone like she looked at Patrick – like he was the only thing in the world. She was calm around him, she didn’t have her guard up, she even seemed to radiate towards him – something she’d never done around any other boyfriend. She smiled at him like he was family.

She loved him. _Really loved him_. It was clear that he was the One for her, no doubt.


	3. I'd lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "And if you asked me if I love him, I'd lie" - which, frankly, Kim Fischer finds ridiculous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one had been burning in me for quite some time. I love this song and I also think it's perfectly ridiculous for Jane and Lisbon:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM4mItnn5CY - Taylor Swift made it kind of famous, but I think I actually like this version better: https://open.spotify.com/track/15QtgZ30N6ayKkniisFbRD?si=jQXrRujPSpeHHeG79KloaA :)
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

To say she was annoyed had to be the understatement of the century. Jane had – again – left her standing at a suspect’s house in the middle of nowhere. He’d run off without telling her where he went or what he was up to, without even telling her _he left_.

She had almost yelled at Abbott, when she’d heard his chuckle that was half-resigned, half-amused over the phone. Only Kim Fischer was a professional – even if everyone else on her team seemed to follow Jane’s parade into unprofessionalism – and professionals didn’t yell at their superiors. So, she took a deep breath to compose herself and asked Abbott to send someone to pick her up. He must’ve heard the strain in her voice, because he sounded a lot more serious, when he told her he’d send Lisbon.

The wait in the hot Texas sun on an almost deserted country road gave her anger time to burn.

She was working with Patrick Jane for a few months now and she couldn’t believe she’d ever seriously been attracted to him. Admittedly, when she had first met him on the island, he’d been different, more serious and a lot lonelier. Now he was just infuriating. He was like child. A boy with nothing but crazy ideas in his head. Only he wasn’t a child. He was a grown man with steel determination and a brilliantly crazy mind (and probably some untreated OCD and PTSD, according to his file). He was completely unpredictable.

(Plus she knew she'd never stood a chance the moment she saw him with Teresa Lisbon, but that was thought she kept locked away.)

His charm and good looks had made her vainly excited to work with him at first. She’d always had had an unhealthy thing for dangerous men, she had to admit. But she hadn’t thought Jane dangerous at first – she wasn’t so sure now. The FBI wanted him for a reason, she supposed. His quota of solved cases spoke volumes, as did the cabinet of complaints about him. But the team liked him, apparently. Sometimes Kim wondered if he was still punishing her for deceiving him on the island, that he was being extra-annoying towards her.

45 minutes later a black FBI SUV came to a halt next to her. By that time, she had giving up on angrily pacing the side of the road and instead sat down in the dirt. She had a headache forming behind her eyes and a sunburn on her neck and she was fuming with anger.

She pulled the door shut with a lot more force than necessary, when she climbed on the passenger seat and let out a heavy sight. Lisbon was grinning at her.

“How do you do it?” She demanded.

“What? Not getting ditched by Jane?” Lisbon made a U-turn and turned up the AC.

“One moment he was standing next to me, the next moment he’s gone and I hear the car running. _He stole my keys_.”

Lisbon laughed at that.

“You find that funny?”

“That’s Jane’s thing.”

“Chaos you mean. Yes, I noticed.”

“No, I mean it’s his way of showing you can’t control him. He did that to all of us in the beginning. I had to pick up Cho at a monastery once.”

“Can’t control him?” She repeated lamely.

“Yeah – I think it’s his way of saying he’s not your weapon or instrument or whatever the FBI thinks he is. He’s not a tool, he’s doing it his way or not at all. It’s more like a – a rollercoaster ride. Fast, lots of drama and you get no say in where to go.”

“That’s not policework. That’s – that’s theatre.”

“Jane is a showman. And he is very effective.”

Lisbon was smiling, how could she still be smiling after years and years of working with this man? Hell, she moved to Austin for him. If it had been Kim, she’d have been more than glad about being rid of Jane.

“How do you do it? How do you deal with him? It’s been months now and I could still kill him daily.”

Lisbon shrugged, still smiling. “You get used to it.” She found this amusing, charming even. She didn’t know why but more often than not Lisbon seemed to find Jane’s antics more endearing than annoying. She couldn’t believe a woman like Lisbon would fall for a man like Jane. She was honest and hard-working and _good_. While Jane was a fraud. A charming, good-looking fraud but still a fraud.

*

"How is it possible that her husband didn't know about any of this," Kim asked as she and Lisbon left the home of their victim's best friend.

"No idea." Lisbon shook her head as she got back in the car and behind the wheel. Kim dropped into the passenger seat. "She didn’t like letting people in, I suppose," Lisbon said, starting the engine and heading for the Austin highway.

"A bit like Jane," Kim remarked after a while.

"Like Jane?" Lisbon asked.

"Yeah, I mean, somehow we don't know anything about him. Not really, at least, and yet he knows everything about us." She sighed. She already regretted even thinking about it. That man was driving her insane.

"No... he just needs time to settle in," Lisbon assured her.

"Do you know much about him?"

"A little, I think. What do you mean?"

"Well, the personal stuff. Favorite color, favorite book, favorite song…"

"There are more personal things."

"Not with Jane. Anyone can google his tragic story.”

Lisbon shrugged, which probably meant she didn’t disagree.

"So, what's his favorite color?"

Lisbon shook her head as if the question was absurd. "Green," she said, without taking her eyes off the road.

"Really?"

Well, who would have thought? "Like your eyes," she pointed out. What a coincidence. Really, it was funny that they were all state agents and yet they avoided to draw obvious conclusions, when they were too personal.

"What?"

"His favorite color is green, just like your eyes."

"Chance," Lisbon said decisively, but her cheeks turned a soft pink.

"You're pretty much the only one who really knows him."

"Cho knows him, too. And Wayne and Grace."

Kim waved it off. "Not like that, I bet."

Lisbon shrugged. "Even so, we've known each other for years."

Like that explained everything.

"And you really never were involved?" She raised an eyebrow in disbelief. She may not understand it, but it was painfully obvious there was something _more_ between Lisbon and Jane.

"No, we're just friends."

"Why not?"

"What do you mean, _why not_?"

“I just thought – well, you two obviously care for each other a lot and since Jane always knows everything anyway…”

_You two are in love with each other, why not acknowledge it?_ , was what she really wanted to ask, but that would have been unprofessional.

"I don't like him," Lisbon protested with a thin smile. "I mean, yes, of course I like him. But not in that way. We're just friends."

*

It was ridiculous, the way he had them dress up. It was also a little fun and certainly his plan was working, but it had been a few good long years since she’d last worn a tiger print dress and Kim preferred to keep it that way.

It didn’t matter anyway, though, because Jane had only eyes for Lisbon as soon as she came downstairs. He complimented her and she made fun of his scarf. He laughed and handed her a glass of sparkling wine, because she didn’t like champagne apparently. She took his phone and connected it to the sound system of the house for music, because apparently, he had no idea how to handle that.

Kim was glad, when other agents filed in for the “party”, so that she wasn’t left feeling like an outsider to a perfectly running system with Jane and Lisbon so in sync most of the time they didn’t need words to communicate and the playful banter was just for their own amusement (and to calm Lisbon’s nerves, probably).

The little things, Kim thought. They knew all the small details about each other. Jane _let_ Lisbon see all the little things about him. That was the difference. He was comfortable around her and she was comfortable around him – which said a lot, as both of them usually had their guard high up.

In Kim’s opinion “just friends” shouldn’t be able to mime a relationship as smoothly as that. She saw Jane gently push a strand of Lisbon’s hair behind her ear, while they were talking to one of the “guests”. He smiled at her so lovingly, Kim was sure not even Patrick Jane could act that convincingly, without feeling it deep in his soul. Lisbon didn’t waver, she shot him a quick look and Kim could see a hint of surprise there, but then she smiled softly and took Jane’s hand from her hair, lacing their fingers together.

Now, this really was ridiculous. Kim took a sip of champagne to keep herself from rolling her eyes.


	4. High

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So, what happened today?”, she asked over the piece of cake she’d saved from lunch for them to share.
> 
> “Do you want the case news first or the gossip?”
> 
> “Seriously? There’s gossip?”
> 
> Wiley grinned and nodded. “Jane punched Mahony.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying not to be too hard on myself with this collection, since it's mostly fun snippets and writing practice for me, so here goes the next chapter.
> 
> [I know there is the ongoing debate over the spelling of Wiley/Wylie but in 6x16 - Violets, the message popping up on Cho's phone is from 'Wiley' and I just trust Cho with the spelling.]
> 
> This one is loosely inspired by this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA3Wg1Jt3WE  
> Also shoutout to Bones for some inspiration from 11x12, it's an amazing show, if you need something new to watch.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

It was the first bad case they had caught since he’d joined Abbott’s team. Well, maybe not the first bad case - the human trafficking case a few months ago had been bad, too, but this one definitely was the first case that had them all on edge.

There was a group of young women, who claimed they were stalked and raped multiple times by the same guy, until one of them turned up dead. There was a _Men’s Rights Activist_ group involved (Wiley didn’t even know such a thing existed) and at the very beginning of their investigation Vega had been stabbed and bound to the hospital for days.

It was fascinating how angry Cho and Lisbon could get. Wiley should’ve known. He knew their history and he supposed they wouldn’t have gotten where they were now without a lot of determination, but still, it was a side of them he hadn’t seen yet.

Understandably, Lisbon and Vega had been hit harder by the accounts of the rape victims - funny enough it showed the most in how overtly composed they acted. Vega was more restrained, Lisbon was bubbling with anger, especially when they discovered a promising lead suspect early in the case, Hugh Stapleton, that proved a lot harder to catch than expected.

The dispute between some of the victims and members of the _Men’s Rights_ group - which their prime suspect was part of - that had led to Vega being stabbed, had been cleverly orchestrated as well and in turn had Cho and Jane light up with cold fury. Cho at his protégée being hurt and Jane by the taunting of the man, who apparently thought himself cleverer than him.

Abbott left Jane an even longer lead than usual, especially when the public press started to take interest in the case, while Wiley made it a habit to visit Vega in hospital at the end of the day to keep her updated.

“So, what happened today?”, she asked over the piece of cake she’d saved from lunch for them to share.

“Do you want the case news first or the gossip?”

“Seriously? There’s gossip?”

Wiley grinned and nodded. “Jane punched Mahony.”

Vega’s eyes went wide. “ _Jane_ punched him?”

Wiley nodded again. Mahony was the leader of the _Men’s Rights_ group and had been at the office for interrogation.

“What did Abbott say?”

“Not much. Lisbon kissed him, though.”

“In the office?” Vega raised her eyebrows. Wiley knew what she was thinking. If he hadn’t witnessed it, he wouldn’t have believed it either.

*

_Cho and Abbott had been the one interrogating Mahony. Jane had claimed the man was a dead end and stayed on his couch, but on impulse (seemingly - you never knew with Jane) he’d gotten up, when Mahony was about to leave._

_He couldn’t hear the words that were exchanged between them but his eyes were abruptly torn from his computer when he heard Mahony cry out in pain. He was lounging at Jane, who was staring back in cold rage. Abbott and Cho were with them a second later, tearing Mahony, who was shouting curses and threats with a bleeding nose, away from Jane._

_“What the hell, Jane?” Abbott yelled._

_“He was asking for it,” Jane said calmly while rubbing the knuckles on his hand._

_Cho had just dragged Mahony away, when Lisbon entered the bullpen. She looked around, her eyebrows furrowed._

_“What’s happening?” She asked._

_“Jane punched James Mahony,” stated Abbott._

_“You did what?” She looked at Jane with wide eyes._

_“He deserved it!” Jane held up his hands in an innocent gesture._

_“Jane, you can’t do that, no matter what -“ Abbott started but Jane interrupted him: “He said they were asking for it.”_

_“Excuse me?”_

_“Stapelton’s victims. Mahony said if women were raped, they had to be asking for it and that -“ His eyes flickered to Lisbon for a second._

_From what he’d read in their online communities, Wiley could imagine a thing or two that Mahony could’ve said about Lisbon to get Jane to lose his temper like that._

_“Jane,” Lisbon said placing herself in front of him._

_“I know, I know...” He said waving his hand. “But you should’ve heard him. And you wanted to punch him to,” he said to Abbott. “And I know you can’t because of ‘policies’ but I’m just a consultant, so you can suspend me for a few days and -“_

_Lisbon had grabbed the lapels of his jacket and kissed him._

_It was the first time Wiley had seen Jane genuinely surprised, if only for a second. The next he’d put his arms around her and kissed her back. Abbott behind them, rolled his eyes._

_“You really can’t punch suspects,” Lisbon murmured, when she broke the kiss and took a step back. She didn’t sound annoyed, though. Quite the opposite, in fact; a small smile was tugging at the corners of her mouth._

_“Okay,” Jane breathed and he looked like he was fine with pretty much everything at the moment, since Lisbon seemed to be proud of him._

_She gently took his hand in hers and ran her thumb over his reddened knuckles. “You should put some ice on this.”_

_Jane nodded and smiled at her in that tender way Wiley had only ever seen him look at her, before he went to the kitchen._

_“And you shouldn’t encourage this behavior,” Abbott told Lisbon but his eyes and tone were not nearly as stern as they should’ve been with a possible pending lawsuit against Jane and the FBI._

_“Sorry, Boss,” Lisbon said but she didn’t sound sorry at all._

*

“So, Jane’s suspended?” Vega asked.

He shrugged. “Nah, the guy deserved it and I think Abbott thinks that, too. He took care of it. And we need Jane, of course.”

“Lucky him.”

“I think he didn’t care so much. Honestly, when Lisbon kissed him, he looked like he’d won the lottery or something.”

“Aren’t they together for months now?”

“Yes, but not officially in the office.”

“They didn’t hide it very well, either.”

He had to laugh at that. “They were like that before they got together, too. Took me weeks to figure out they weren’t a couple in the beginning.”

“Seriously?”

Wiley nodded. “They don’t even notice it. Probably they’ve known each other for too long to notice. Abbott thought they were a couple even back, when he first met them. Seems like it’s always been like this, just… without the kissing in the office.”

“Lisbon won’t make that a habit.” Vega leaned back in the pillows. “Now, what about the case news?”


End file.
